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Thompson, Vela Inquire on U.S. Citizen Passport Denials Along Border

Sep 6, 2018

Correspondence

(WASHINGTON) – Today, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Homeland Security, and Rep. Filemon Vela (D-TX), Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Border and Maritime Security, sent a letter to Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on news reports of a surge in passport denials by the Department of State to United States citizens born along the U.S.-Mexico border. The Ranking Members also express their concern about the broad sweep of this apparent change in policy potentially affecting thousands of U.S. citizens.

In the letter, the Members write:

The recent surge in passport denials and revocations under the Trump administration is having a serious negative impact on U.S. citizens who have lived, worked, and voted in the U.S. their entire lives. Some have been apprehended and put into immigration detention facilities while awaiting removal proceedings, while others have had their passport revoked trying to re-enter the U.S. from Mexico. Some have even served in the U.S. military. We have also been approached by constituents facing similar hardship, and in one case the possible loss of a government pension after years of service with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

It appears that the Trump administration’s attempt to decrease illegal and legal immigration is being expanded to include how U.S. passport applications are adjudicated.